Path of Exile Item Upgrades
Upgrades to items are a common and important way to improve the performance of a variety of items in Path of Exile. They can be a good source of extra damage or more AD or even more attaches.
upgrade item -grade equipment is often superior to upgraded Common or Magic equipment due to their higher requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a type of upgrade that can be applied to weapon and armor items. They increase the effectiveness of the item they're attached to. Upgrades to armor are available in the game's world and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. They can also be salvaged using a specialist or higher salvage kit to salvage upgrade components from items.
The amount of damage an armored piece or weapon will absorb is contingent on the degree of upgrades. Upgrading a piece of armor to maximum upgrade level will increase its damage absorption. It is important to keep in mind that this will increase the weight of the armor, therefore it must be heavier.
There are several different types of armor upgrades that are available in the game. Each one has a distinct effect. Certain upgrades grant armor a greater number of health points while others make it stronger and lighter. The name of the armor upgrade will indicate the type of upgrade an item can be given, as illustrated below.
Certain upgrades require magic or a hybrid technology and magic, which are shown by the "Magic" and "Hybrids" entries in the table. Certain upgrades require charges in order to be used. They are referred to as "Charges" entries in the table. These charges are either constantly updated or never expire based on the upgrade.
The cheapest way to upgrade armor is by using Iron Ore, which can be obtained through exploring the surroundings and looting small loot chests. Titanium is more expensive, however it is obtainable from smelters located in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Some upgrades, such as the Reforge and the Hot Potato Books, can only be applied to higher level armor pieces. These upgrades can give significant boost to stats and are worth the cost, especially for single-handed weapons.
The player must be aware that upgrading a piece to the maximum upgrade level can increase its defense value. However, it will also affect its agility and its speed. Therefore, it is not recommended to upgrade most armor pieces above +9, since the added defense is usually not worth the weight and power cost of the improvements required.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades give players to enhance certain aspects of their weapon. Upgrades can boost the accuracy of a rifle or the damage that shotgun shells cause. Some weapons also have special upgrades that enhance their inherent characteristics. They include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and decreases the chance of overheating of the weapon) and Kinetic Coils (increases the speed of projectiles to cause more damage).
The majority of upgrades to weapons require a whetblade, one of three Power Dices and a different amount Minerals and Erons. These are obtained through either doing side quests, or taking out a certain number of monsters or bosses, or through the Weapon Upgrade NPC in Central Flarine.
The process of upgrading a weapon, equipment Set piece or Whetblade requires visiting the NPC [Armor] Boboko in Central Flarine and paying her an upgrade price of a certain number of Bars. The more bars needed to complete an upgrade the higher the level. The cost of upgrades will be lower if you have more than one of the relevant upgrade materials.
In Chapter 2: Season 5, the method of upgrading your weapon and equipment sets was a bit different. Prior to Chapter 2 Season 5 you could upgrade your weapon and equipment by paying a specific amount of Bars. You could continue doing this until you reached a maximum upgrade level for the equipment or weapon, following which upgrades would reset.
read article can still do this but the process is high on RNG and low on agency. It is better to purchase gear that has low upgrade levels but with high base scores and stat distributions. These items will have a better likelihood of granting you most prestigious tier of blessings and perks.
To improve their skills faster, many players prioritise upgrading their weapons. Players should also upgrade the weapons their teammates use to boost their strength. Shepard, for example should upgrade his M92F so that he can unlock the Beretta M93R. This will make the weapon more useful when accompanied with biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels can be used to increase a stat or provide secondary effects in weapons and armor. They can be created using a process called jewelry crafting, which is where you combine a gem and several reagents at a jewelry table. The higher the level of the gemstone has, the more powerful its secondary effect. These reagents can be obtained around the world through Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and occasionally by salvaging Legendary gear. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler in exchange for Scattered Prisms and gold.
The Jeweler can improve the quality of a gem in stages ranging from Crude up to Royal. The stat boosts can vary depending on the level the jewel is in when it is inserted into jewelry, weapons or gear.
All tiers of jewels can be crafted at the Jeweler and Jeweler's Workshop, with the exception of the rare and legendary jewels which require you to be at a sufficient level to qualify for these. Jewels can be substituted with another one without damaging the original. You can only replace the gem once within an item of equipment.
It is normal to use more jewels to enhance the appearance of. In addition to enhancing performance, the jewels create an area that is stronger than metal, which means that repeated friction from pivots doesn't cause damage as easily.
A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs that can enhance the look of your weapons and shields. They offer a small benefit and can be swapped out at any time but aren't guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs, just like jewelry, can be upgraded by the Jeweler to exchange Scattered Crystals and gold. Glyphs can also be taken out from the inventory, and they are returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, like aegis and traits, cannot be swapped out, and are only recoverable by using an Upgrade Extractor, or by salvaging them using the Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage Tool.

Trinkets
Trinkets can give your character many small, but beneficial, advantages. They can be obtained in the beginning areas as loot, personal story rewards, from vendors, and through performing road interactions. They can also be made by jewelers, and then found or purchased at the Trading Post.
The first trinket a player can unlock is the cloak. It grants an unimportant but beneficial boost to movement speed and evasion. The player can then collect necklaces, amulets, and rings, in a similar way similar to how they obtained weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment comes with one upgrade slot that accepts either a universal or jewel upgrade. Universal upgrades provide smaller bonuses and can be used in any type of equipment however, jewelry cannot be replaced or upgraded and only works with certain types of trinkets.
These trinkets grant additional buffs and abilities that are active when the hero isn't in combat. This allows a hero to be more efficient while inactive. It can also compensate for the absence of good slots in the team or talent tree that are normally filled by the hero's optimal stats.
A good rule of thumb for trinket upgrades is to prioritize BiS (Best-in-Slot) items that you won't be replacing soon, followed by items with desirable stats but less important than the iLevel of the item to be upgraded. This is true especially if you're looking to upgrade several statistics on an item. It's better to upgrade one important stat instead of two subpar ones.
Jungle players usually upgrade their yellow trinkets to a red one at the beginning of the game. Top and mid players on the other hand, will choose a green or a pink ward, depending on the game's matchup. These choices will have a major impact on the hero's ability to control his map.
Aside from the items mentioned above, players can also find a number of other items in the form of awards and trophies. They can be obtained by completing certain milestones in the story. For instance, completing a chapter’s main quest or defeating the boss. You can check them out by clicking on the achievement in the reward section of the hero's menu.